Title: The Hidden Costs of Subsidies: Export Trends in Germany’s Electric Vehicle Market
with Amadeus Bach (University of Mannheim), Davud Rostam-Afschar (University of Mannheim) (draft available upon request)
Abstract: Many countries subsidize the purchase of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) to pursue environmental goals and accelerate the transition to electric mobility, but such policies can generate unintended cross-border effects. In Germany, the largest car market in Europe, eligibility for the subsidy required an initial registration in the country but did not restrict resale or export after six months, creating the potential for subsidized BEVs to leave the domestic fleet shortly after purchase. We examine the benefits and potential drawbacks of this policy by estimating excess exports of subsidized BEVs relative to new unsubsidized cars. Our estimates indicate that about 9\% of subsidized BEVs are exported in excess of expected levels, corresponding to no less than €180 million in prior German tax-funded subsidies.
Keywords: Electric mobility, subsidies, environmental regulation
Title: Corporate Climate Litigation and Carbon Emissions
with Amadeus Bach (University of Mannheim), Nicolas Rudolf (University of Lausanne (HEC))
Abstract: The world’s largest companies produce most global emissions, yet efforts to curb them have remained mainly voluntary. Litigation offers a potential tool to compel corporate emission reductions. This paper examines how climate lawsuits affect industry peers of the sued firms. Using a global dataset of corporate climate lawsuits from 1999 to 2024, we employ a staggered difference-in-differences approach comparing close peers of litigated firms to more distant peers within the same industries. We find that after lawsuit filings, close peers initially increase their reported emissions, which might likely reflect greater environmental disclosure. Whereas, following court decisions, close peers reduce emissions. These findings suggest that climate litigation can trigger meaningful spillover effects, influencing corporate behavior beyond the directly targeted firms and strengthening accountability within carbon-intensive industries.
Keywords: Climate litigation, corporate emissions, peer effects, spillover effects, environmental disclosure, carbon intensity
Post-Paris Climate Policies and Emission Reduction: A Meta-Analysis